


Afternoon Light

by Arcane_Iridescence



Series: Say "I Love You" [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, mini series, unconnected drabbles, warm-up before I start writing my bigger fics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-19
Updated: 2015-12-19
Packaged: 2018-05-07 14:12:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,503
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5459312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arcane_Iridescence/pseuds/Arcane_Iridescence
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kageyama pressed his lips into a tight line, feeling more heat rise to his face, leaving his cheeks feeling scorched and tender. He tried to reply, but like every time Hinata complimented him to his face, he was left tripping over his thoughts and words, the intended sentences tumbling out of his mouth broken and barely formed. He could handle praise from his teammates, his peers, others that he knew; but Hinata was painfully different. He was so goddam <i>earnest</i> and <i>sincere</i> that it left Kageyama breathless and disgustingly close to being bashful. This was more than being flustered and he hated it.</p><p>That was a lie.</p><p>He <i>didn’t.</i></p><p>A series of unconnected mini-fics/drabbles that I'll be writing to warm up before I start writing my fics with the higher word-counts. Pairings may very.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Afternoon Light

Exhaustion weighed heavy in his limbs, his arms, legs, and even his head like bags of sand laced to his body. His bones shook from the effort of keeping him on his feet, but it was the good kind of exhausted, the kind that came with breathless exhilaration and a grin that made one’s cheeks hurt. He probably reeked with all the sweat he was drenched in, his clothes tight against his skin almost uncomfortably, making him itch and chaff in unpleasant places. 

It was alright though, it was acceptable. 

Hinata leapt, throwing his fists in the air and giving a raspy whoop, his eyes fever-bright. He bounced his way over to Kageyama, who, even after all this time, couldn’t help but wonder where this new burst of energy had come from as his own legs wobbled and threatened to give beneath him. 

He heaved in a breath and leaned back, hands on his hips, lungs burning and a cough crawling its way up his throat. He swallowed it down with what little saliva he had left, then looked at Hinata, barely noticing the flutter in his chest as his heart pounded from the exertion he had just put himself through. The other player was beaming, the excitement rolling off him in waves that were tangible in the air around him. He was blotchy and red, his lips chapped, and he was dripping in sweat, but Kageyama could describe him nothing less than radiant. 

“One-hundred-percent success rate!” Hinata rasped, rocking back on his heels. He licked his lips and swallowed, his throat making an audible sound from the dryness that made it sticky. Grinning again, he took Kageyama’s hands and turned them over, inspecting his palms and his fingers, running his thumb over the rough skin of the pads.

“You really are amazing, Kageyama,” he said, looking back up at him, his expression – if possible – brighter than before. “I don’t think I could tell you that enough in a lifetime.”

Kageyama pressed his lips into a tight line, feeling more heat rise to his face, leaving his cheeks feeling scorched and tender. He tried to reply, but like every time Hinata complimented him to his face, he was left tripping over his thoughts and words, the intended sentences tumbling out of his mouth broken and barely formed. He could handle praise from his teammates, his peers, others that he knew; but Hinata was painfully different. He was so goddam  _earnest_ and  _sincere_ that it left Kageyama breathless and disgustingly close to being bashful. This was more than being flustered and he hated it. 

That was a lie. 

He _didn’t_. 

“Your hands are dry,” Hinata said, still running his fingers over Kageyama’s hands. “Here, I bought something for you.”

“You what?” But the ginger was already leading him over to his porch, fingers laced tightly between the other’s, leaving him no choice but to follow. And so he did. 

Hinata didn’t let him go when they stopped in front of his bag, rummaging around inside with one hand while Kageyama used his teeth to pop the cap on his water bottle, chugging the cool liquid down when he succeeded. The ice had melted into small pieces that rattled around inside when he took a moment to breathe, closing his eyes and relishing the feel of it rushing down into his stomach, the chill spreading, though it did little to completely relieve the heat. It was too hot out, to humid, too sunny and with too little wind for such a short drink to be a proper solution, and before long, he was only sucking in air as he emptied it, ice and all. 

“I found it!” Hinata exclaimed, pulling out a small blue jar. He sat down, tugging on Kageyama’s arm until he settled next to him. He finally released his hand after that, only for a moment, unscrewing the cap and setting it on the other side of him. The lotion inside had a subtle smell to it, like lemon and sage, not enough to be overpowering, just enough to be pleasant. Hinata’s fingers were gentle when he scooped a dollop of the white cream up with three fingers and massaged into into the skin of Kageyama’s hands.

He made a small, pleased sound, letting the ginger pull his hands closer toward him. Having his hands massaged had always been relaxing to him, but he suspected enough of _this_ would have him sleeping soundly for several hours. He closed his eyes, the corners of his lips pulling up, his mind thinking only of the feel of Hinata’s hands gently moving over his own. He was glad he was sitting. Had he still been standing, his already exhausted legs would have given out beneath him for sure. 

After a while, something rough touched his fingertips and he blinked his eyes open, glancing at the other. The soft kiss turned into an even softer smile, his eyes half-lidded, relaxed, happy. 

“I think I made a good investment,” Hinata said, lips moving against the tingling pads of his fingers. They were chapped from practicing for so long under the cloudless sky, the air thick and hot. But those lips were familiar, as familiar as his own. He had stared at them, watched them move when Hinata spoke, had seen them stretch in everything from grins and smiles to frowns and strained lines when sobs threatened to tumble from between them. He knew every shape they could form and how they felt while doing those things.

His hands moved away from Hinata’s lips to cup his jaw, and Kageyama’s gaze roamed around the ginger’s face. Bright eyes that could reach an intensity that made his bones shake; a splash of barely-visible freckles around his nose that he probably would never have noticed if he didn’t spend so much time with him; and hair like fire, soft and silky, with very few dry ends, and nothing at all like it should feel when looking at it. Unruly and unable to decide which way it wanted to grow, but it smelled like apples and mint, no doubt something his mom had picked up - not that Kageyama was complaining. 

Hinata gave him an expectant look, pouting a bit, like he was taking too long. And maybe he was, but in his defense, there was a lot to take in. 

Kageyama leaned forward, breathing out slowly through his nose. His heart had stopped pounding from practice, but now it raced from something else entirely, though both involved the boy in front of him. His eyes were mostly closed by the time he pressed a kiss against those chapped lips he had been eyeing for however long. They scraped at his own that had receded from their borderline-dry state after he had chugged his water, making them ache and sting. They were salty from sweat, warm from the heat, and firm, because despite how often he was mistaken for a middle-school kid, he was still very much a teenage boy. It was just a soft thing, a simple press of lips like all the ones before that moment, but it was anything _but_ simple in every other way. A shiver bloomed in his chest, fluttered into his throat, then finally moved down to his stomach, tripping over itself until it found a comfortable place to settle and radiate its warmth. 

It might have lasted only a second, or even a month or several years, Kageyama didn’t know. He had never been a romantic, had only over thought about volleyball, and that was still true now. But Hinata had been stubborn, had wormed his way inside his heart and made himself right at home without permission, and now the ginger was all he was conscious of in these moments, was all he could understand. Hinata’s lips, Hinata’s warmth, Hinata’s fingers curled into his hair, Hinata’s own hair tickling his cheekbones. Everything was Hinata, Hinata, _Hinata_ …

Their dry mouths stuck slightly when they leaned back to a mere breath away, eyes downcast and faces scarlet. Hinata grinned and Kageyama watched his mouth for a bit before moving up to his eyes, the brown glittering like tiger’s eye in the gold afternoon light. 

“Kageyama, I love you,” he said, his voice taking on that same sincere, earnest quality from before. 

Kageyama made a noise in his throat – one that might have been a groan or a sound of glee, he wasn’t sure – and dropped his forehead against the ginger’s shoulder. He wondered if this would always be his reaction to when Hinata acted like this. Maybe he would get lucky and finally adjust to it. Taking a deep breath, he responded, thinking that it would probably take years of exposure before he got anywhere close to being used to the other when he was like this. 

“I love you too, dumbass,” he mumbled, brushing a thumb over his jaw. 

Well, it was a good start and they had plenty of time to work on it. 


End file.
